Head gear is equipped in the helmet slot. Every base falls into one of two defensive families, and which family you pick matters more than the individual base:
You can mix and match — Energy Shield from the head, chest and leg slots is summed into a single pool — but a defense-based helmet contributes nothing to that pool, and an Energy Shield helmet contributes nothing to your defense.
| Defense bases | Defense scales with Item Level. An item dropped at the bottom of the base's item level range rolls the minimum value; one dropped at the top rolls the maximum. There is no randomness. |
| Energy Shield bases | Energy Shield is rolled randomly anywhere within the base's range, regardless of item level. Two identical bases from the same area can have very different shield values. |
Because a base's item level range is also the range of Area Levels it can drop in, the ranges below double as a progression guide.
Energy Shield acts as a buffer in front of your life total.
| Name | Energy Shield | Item Level Range |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice Cap | 3 – 10 | 1 – 35 |
| Acolyte Hood | 10 – 20 | 25 – 50 |
| Mystic Circlet | 19 – 29 | 40 – 65 |
| Spectral Veil | 30 – 42 | 55 – 80 |
| Ethereal Diadem | 44 – 56 | 71 – 85 |
| Name | Defense (low → high item level) | Item Level Range |
|---|---|---|
| Battered Helm | 1 → 3 | 1 – 35 |
| Ironbound Helm | 5 → 8 | 25 – 50 |
| Hallowforged Helm | 10 → 13 | 40 – 65 |
| Astralforged Greathelm | 15 → 20 | 55 – 80 |
| Eternalforged Greathelm | 22 → 27 | 71 – 85 |
These older bases have no item level restriction and can drop at any area level. Their defense is derived from item level rather than a fixed range.
| Name | Defense | Item Level Range |
|---|---|---|
| Crown | Item Level ÷ 10, +1 | Any |
| Visor | Item Level ÷ 10, +1 | Any |
Head gear can roll the shared armour affix pool (life, mana, potion, movement speed and defensive modifiers) plus a few Modifiers exclusive to the helmet slot:
| Affix | Notes |
|---|---|
| Decreased debuff duration | Helmet only |
| Increased buff duration | Helmet only |
| Maximum minions | Helmet only, unlocks at item level 52 |
Energy Shield helmets additionally have access to the Energy Shield affix pool listed above; defense helmets do not.
| Name | Base Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Firelord's Will | Helmet | 16 defense, +30% extra fire damage, +50 max life, cannot be chilled. Drops from Pyralis The Fallen. |